Kelli and Jared and Henry Leave the Island

Here is where we are going!

The view from the little plane.

 

The house is very quite this morning, as it was last night:  there were no nighttime cries from Henry that interrupted our sleep and made us frown and smile at the same time, knowing he and Mommy and Daddy were so close.   There was no pack of 800 sheets of  copy paper for a booster on a chair pulled up to the dining room table, and a bowl of yogurt and a banana for the boy with the good morning appetite, patiently being fed by Mommy or Daddy or Grandma, no yells of “Good Morning” in his own special language, arms thrown up; there was no pointing child looking out the window, seeing a blue jay,  a tree, or something else.  We have lived longer in our log house with Henry and Kelli and Jared than we have with just the two of us!  This makes it even more quiet and sad they are gone.

Henry and Kelli and Jared were in our cabin for a wonderful 13 nights and 12 days, and we all had a great time.  Kelli was a big factor in convincing me, and us, that we should take advantage of this opportunity for a grand change, even though we both loved being new grandparents, so close to our grandchild and new parents, and would miss them all terribly.  Now she has seen for herself how grand a change it was, first hand.  Dense forests, snow-capped mountains, and ocean, lake and river views everywhere; some of the freshest air on earth, thanks to those trees and the regular rain (lack of cars, too!); friendly people, slower pace of life, the small and beautiful St John’s Catholic Church, and many other features of Craig and Klawock and Prince of Wales Island we have enjoyed since our move. 

 Jared and Henry were good hiking buddies for me.  We went on many trails, some new to me, some I’d hiked before.  We went much farther up Sunnahae Mountain Trail than I had gone before, despite the rain and mud and stretches of narrow trail tangled with exposed roots.  We hiked much of the 20-mile Trail (named for the trailhead location down the Klawock-Hollis Highway, not it’s length), forced to stop by a swollen creek very close to the end, denied a visit to the beaver ponds.  We still enjoyed the hike, especially the beautiful birch trees that lined the trail. 

We walked the Klawock River Trail several times, drawn by the easy access and rewarding views of bald eagles, occasional calls of startled kingfishers, and the fun of seeing many sea otters, popping up only their heads to look us over from mid-river.   One time we saw ten heads at once!

And now, it’s too quiet In the cabin.  To be sure, Henry is a handful, so busy and curious and talkative, in his own language, with his own sure emphasis.  He’s a loud one!  Even with Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa, watching him is a challenge, between the VCR controls, the remote control, the heater control panel, the stairs, the dogfood dish, the kitchen trash, he’s a devious one and knows where he doesn’t belong and head right for them, one after the other!  And we couldn’t miss him more.  

Today is Kelli’s 31^st birthday.  Happy Birthday Kel!  Love you and miss you!